The paper is an outcome of a research project currently in progress, involving the Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University in Brno and the Faculty of Education, University of West Bohemia in Pilsen. The objective is to study the learning process of the current generation of students with focus on using modern technologies and electronic sources for their studies. It emerged from the previous qualitative research done at the Faculty of Arts of the Masaryk University in 2010 that significant diversity is distinctive for using modern technologies for university studies. Phenomena identified by qualitative methodology are now being verified quantitatively so as to catch the diversification frequency of these phenomena in population. Data collection was realized during 2012. The form of a printed questionnaire was used. Respondents included students from both universities and students in various programmes (in social and technical sciences) of the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen. We concentrated on how well students were equipped with electronic devices, what experience with technologies they had when they entered the university and how they utilized technologies and study support systems in everyday practice. The paper contains a presentation of selected research findings including a comparison with results of the previous qualitative research. Characterization of various types of respondent relationships to using modern technologies and presentation of the young generation’s opinions on e-learning and on the use of ICT for their studies is a considerable part of this presentation.

1. Lucie Rohlíková
Jana Vejvodová
Jiří Zounek
Ústav pedagogických věd
DisCo (2013)

2.  Onset of so-called WEB 2.0 (wiki, weblog, social
networks etc.)
 Present-day students have grown up with ICT and use it
= so-called net generation, i-generation, digital
natives
 Teachers prepare courses in Moodle, offer digital study
materials, employ their own approaches to ICT-
supported learning

3.  But what do we know of the current student
generation?
 How do they view ICT? Which technologies do they
use?
 What does the “studio” of a present-day student look
like?
 What is the personal (digital) learning environment of our
students like? (Attwell, 2007)

4.  Research project: Tertiary education in the era of social
networking (through students’ eyes)
(Zounek, 2010), ww.zounek.cz
 Qualitative research
 How students themselves use university online learning
systems
 How they take advantage of other ICT tools when
studying

5.  Respondents: master degree diploma students, different years
of study and study programmes (11 together), Faculty of
Arts, Masaryk University
 In-depth interviews (interviews were taped, transcribed
and analyzed using Atlas.ti software)
 Think-aloud protocols

6.  Previous qualitative survey at Masaryk University in 2010
highlighted diverse ways of using ICT in education.
 Establish the distribution of phenomena
identified in the field research (qualitative
phase) in a broad student population
(Collaboration between Masaryk University and the University of West Bohemia
in Pilsen)

7. ICT at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen:
a) Information system (IS/STAG) – teaching
administration, information on study
b) University’s Moodle installation – learning environment
c) Courseware – electronic teaching support tools

8.  Questionnaire survey: spring/summer 2012
 Printed questionnaires (developed on the basis of the
qualitative survey)
 Data processing – IBM SPSS Statistics 20

9.  A total of 560 students of the University of West Bohemia in
Pilsen
 Students from various years and fields, blended and full-time
programmes
 Faculty of Education
 Faculty of Health Care Studies
 Faculty of Electrical Engineering
 Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
 Faculty of Applied Sciences
 Faculty of Philosophy and Arts
 Institute of Art and Design

10. Do students consider themselves to be information literate?
What are students’ typical activities on the internet?
What are their attitudes towards utilizing information
technology tools in their study?

11. Includes only data from
the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen.

12.  1.4% of respondents consider themselves as beginners
in using ICT
 45.8 % of respondents = ordinary users of ICT
 42.2% of respondents = advanced users
 10.2% of respondents = fans of ICT

13. 0 50 100
I have a profile on Facebook.
We have a class at Spolužáci (similar to Classmates.com).
I communicate via Skype and/or similar services.
I use Google documents (writing, sharing).
I follow expert videos on YouTube.
I have a profile on some social network (Google+, etc.).
I use a particular online environment in my learning.
Activities on the internet
%

14. 0 5 10 15
I have a subscription for expert electronic articles.
I run my web pages.
I have published on Wikipedia (even a keyword).
I contribute to my blog.
I have a profile on some professional network, e.g. LinkedIn.
I am active in Second Life.
Activities on the internet
%

19.  Students can be regarded as a digital generation in
terms of abilities and technology-related skills (general
PC and internet use).
 Students themselves see ICT as a tool that contributes
to better study results.
 Digital communication is widespread.

20.  Students are aware of risks of ICT (over)use in study
activities (oversaturation with contacts, superficial
relations, technological distractions).
 Outlook – issues for further research: minor
questionnaire revisions (formulating questions more
accurately, adding a couple – based on this study).

21. Thank you for your attention
Jiří Zounek
zounek@phil.muni.cz
Lucie Rohlíková
lrohlik@kcj.zcu.cz
Jana Vejvodová
vejvod@kcj.zcu.cz